Hidden World of Women Addicted to Cats

The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

A video camera captures nocturnal feline activity in Diane's kitchen. Diane, who is in her mid-60s, houses more than 100 cats.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

A video camera captures nocturnal feline activity in Diane's kitchen. Diane, who is in her mid-60s, houses more than 100 cats.

Chocolate Box Entertainment

The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Diane spent most of her career as a high-powered banker. But when she was forced into early retirement, this workaholic turned her efforts towards another passion: cats.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Diane said she doesn't get much sleep because she spends her nights trapping stray cats. "This is now too much for me. I'm at risk for the law; I'm at risk for my health; I know I'm doing a good thing but I think it's a little too much now," she said.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Diane counts cats in her home. "The smell just takes your breath away, because it's, it's the ammonia in the cat urine," said Christie Callon-Jones, who directed the new documentary "Cat Ladies." "I guess it's almost like if you were maybe sticking your head in a litterbox, I mean it's very, very overwhelming. But you get used to it very quickly."

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Jenny lives with 16 cats.
She talks about having had boyfriends in the past and being open to finding someone new.
"I think I'm a great catch, and it's kind of depressing that I guess no one else has seen that," she said.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Jenny said emotional trauma caused by a difficult childhood has prevented her from having healthy adult relationships. "But I'm fine, don't worry," she said. "It's not like I'm on medicine or anything like that ... anymore."

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Margot was adopted. Her adoptive family was overachieving, she said, and she felt she never lived up to her parents' expectations. She has worked as a receptionist but longs for more.
"I think I should be at a certain place in my life at my age and I'm not," Margot said.
"My cats, that's what saved me. They love me, they weren't mad at me. They accepted me for who I was."

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Sigi is on a mission to save cats. She has transformed her house into a dormitory for hundreds of them -- too many cats to count. "I find it amusing that people call me the 'crazy cat lady,' because I don't look at myself that way," she said.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Sigi is certain she's the solution, not the problem. "I'm the Mother Theresa of these cats," she said.

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The Line Between Cat Fancy and Cat Crazy

Sigi's front door. After countless run-ins with the Humane Society, which made her get rid of most all of her furniture because it was too unsanitary, Sigi now sleeps in a plastic lawn chair. She is surrounded by angry neighbors who say the stench of the cats is overwhelming.